I couldn’t make a long story short to save my life, but I’m great at making short stories long.

I recently had an issue with Rumparooz PUL delamination, and I wanted to share my experience with you, in case you have Rumparooz, or had heard anything about this issue. 

Let me very clearly state: While the delamination problem is a known issue, it is a small portion of the diapers that are affected.  If you are not having problems with your diaper.  Good.  Don’t worry about it.  If you are having a problem, contact Rumparooz.

I have been using Tide (which Rumparooz and a few other manufacturers recommend, but many do not.)  I typically hang my shells to dry, but occasionally throw them in the dryer on low for the last 20 or so minutes with the inserts.

Saturday, I took my diapers down, and a few were a bit damp on the inside, so I turned them inside out.  This was totally by chance, since I don’t normally do that.  I immediately noticed “bubbles” where the water resistant PUL lining had pulled away from the outer.  I checked the other Rumparooz I have, and that was the same way, but had actually torn free in some places.

Here are some photos, I know I have mad MS Paint skills, don’t be jealous, LOL. 

Rather hard to see in photos, sorry.

I sent an email from their website around 11 P.M. on Saturday and I had a response by 3 P.M on Sunday!  Sunday!
I received a polite response acknowledging the issue, with instructions on how to receive replacements.  I thought that was great.

I asked to post the explanation of the issue in their words, but they declined.  They seem to want to handle problems as customers bring it up, rather than issuing a statement about it.  Personally, I think they would have been much better off to issue a statement when they discovered the issue, to assure people who did have a problem, that they would stand behind their product.  To let everyone know that they have corrected the issue, and don’t forsee any problems in the future.  By keeping it so “hush hush” it’s just led to discussions about how “my Rumparooz fell apart.”

In fact, I was ticked off, complaining, and wasn’t sure I should even bother contacting them…but after a few other moms in an online cloth diapering group had a similar problem, I thought I’d try.

Since they will not allow me to actually post their explanation of what went wrong, what was affected, how they have fixed the problem, how to know if your diapers are affected and so forth, I will paraphrase.  They know of a delamination problem with some diapers.  It wasn’t all diapers, but they aren’t able to pinpoint which ones it was, until the problem arises with an individual diaper.  It usually shows up after tumble drying.  They have a new PUL supplier and do not expect this to be an issue again.  Some of the affected diapers are still out there.  If you have a problem with your diaper, contact them.  Obviously, if you do not have a problem, you don’t need to contact them. 

In addition to the claim form, there were instructions on how to complete it, take photos and send it along with my receipts.  Once submitted, I immediately received an auto-reply explaining that they would send my replacement diapers within 48 business hours.  Since then (4 days ago, as of the time this post is being published), I haven’t received any correspondence.  No claim approval, no shipping notice.
For any rotten folks out there, you have to contact them to receive the claim form, then send your receipt as well as photos that show the defect, with the completed claim form also visible in the picture.  So no sneaky borrowing pictures to try to pull one over on them!

My reason for sharing this with you is two-fold.  One is that I was not happy with Rumparooz Saturday night.  However, I am glad they are standing behind the product.  It’s just a shame that all companies can’t be as up front as Rockin’ Green was with their recent recall. 

Not all companies are even this responsive to problems.  I contacted Blueberry in January after my Minky Aplix diaper had one of the laundry tabs pretty much shred off of the diaper.  Keep in mind I’d had this diaper less than two months when I sent the email, and the laundry tab had started coming off almost immediately.

This is the response I received:

Maria:

Good afternoon!!!
Thank you for your comments. Unfortunately Velcro is a beast. I prefer snaps myself, just due to the no maintenance aspect. We have tried many different varieties/brands of Velcro and have tested many different scenarios. Either we can have soft velcro that looses it stick or one like that is too stiff and will scratch the baby. We are always looking for way to build a better mouse trap.

Thanks again and have a greta day!!!

Bet regards,

Casey

First off, I am so guilty of typos, especially reversing letters or leaving one out.  However, receiving a typo-riddled response made me feel less than important.  I also felt very brushed off.  Like this was no surprise and no big deal to them that my THIRTY THREE DOLLAR diaper was a hunk-o-cr…junk.  No request for more information or photos, nothing.  I clearly explained that I’d had the diaper about a month and that the velcro was so “sticky” that it was nearly impossible to remove from the laundry tabs, and that one laundry tab had torn almost completely off.

Needless to say, I haven’t been able to bring myself to buy any more of their diapers, even though I like the snap closure diaper I have.  Yes, I spent $33 on a diaper.  I’m appropriately ashamed.  Isn’t it interesting that the 3 most expensive diapers I’ve bought are the 3 with the biggest problems?

OK, the second reason I wanted to share this with you is to urge you to check your diapers.  If you have a Rumparooz that you purchased in the past year or so, turn it inside out and look at it. 

If you have washed your diapers many times, occasionally tumble drying them and you do not have any problems, you do not need to contact Rumparooz, your diapers are fine!

The worst of my delamination (the torn part) is in the back, but if it were in a wet zone, the diapers would likely be leaking.

In case you didn’t notice, customer service is a pet peeve of mine.  When I initially thought that RaR had identified the issue and was owning up to it, the tone of this post was much more positive (and had a different title.)  Hopefully this post will help spread the word, so that people who have diapers with problems can get them replaced (since RaR doesn’t seem to be planning to go “public.”)

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